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Print
Perfect
The Print story: Of new titles and plans on hold Puneet Bedi Bahri  The
magazine market saw a healthy growth in the year 2008 with 22 titles taking
off across genres and languages. New launches and expansion marked the
print media scene during the year. It was a joyous time for magazines with some much awaited announcements from the Government. Permission for 26 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in general interest publications was granted as also 74 per cent FDI in special interest publications. The sector also received the all-important nod from the Government for Indian editions of foreign news and current affairs magazines. The hike in the newsprint cost did in a way force the print media to hike ad rates in the first half - BCCL, Mid-day, DNA, Outlook and India Today Group, among other publications, increased their ad rates. The second half saw the industry reel under the economic slowdown. Growth in the magazine market The magazine market saw quite a few launches. The Outlook Group had quite a few of these. While 'Outlook Profit' hit the newsstands in February-end, 'Outlook Lounge' was launched for the New Delhi airport in the year. The Group also joined hands with Gruner + Jahr (G+J) International, the largest European magazine publisher, to launch the licensed edition of 'GEO' in India. And then there was 'People' magazine that was launched with much fanfare. Coming up in 2009 is the Indian edition of 'Popular Science'. At WWM, Filmfare went fortnightly and launched a German edition. WWM also launched the Indian edition of style magazine 'Grazia'. Media Transasia launched parenting magazine 'Child' and 'Blender' in India and is set to launch Italian magazine 'Casaviva' in India in January 2009. Condé Nast India launched 'GQ' magazine in India; Worldwide Media launched the Indian edition of 'BBC Good Homes'. India Today Group and Axel Springer joined hands to launch 'Auto Bild' in India; Vaartha Group launched lifestyle magazine 'Jade'; Mid-Day and Maxposure jointly launched culture and lifestyle magazine 'Beat'; and Delhi Press relaunched its magazine 'Caravan'. The Times of India launched 'Amar Somoy', a quarterly magazine in Bangla, as also 'Udita', a women's magazine for the Kolkata market. The Mathrubhumi Group launched Malayalam travel magazine 'Yaathra'; Dainik Bhaskar launched 'She', a fortnightly magazine for women; while IDG Media launched 'Windows World', a magazine for IT managers working on Windows. Rolling Stone's Indian avatar hit newsstands during the year, while Spenta Multimedia acquired 'Marwar', a lifestyle magazine from Arpan Publishing. Gill India Communications, too, launched two magazines in December. Old players on expansion spree Many of the old publications were on an expansion spree during the year. To name a few - DNA continued its national expansion by launching its Pune edition. In line with its recent expansion into the Gujarat market and having consolidated its market position in Mumbai, DNA launched its Jaipur edition in the first week of June and entered the Bangalore market by the year-end. Amar Ujala launched its Lucknow edition on June 24, covering eight other districts of Uttar Pradesh - Rai Barelli, Lakhimpur Kheri, Gonda, Sitapur, Barabanki, Bahraich, Faizabad and Sultanpur. Deccan Chronicle Holdings Ltd, publisher of English daily Deccan Chronicle, launched its new business daily, Financial Chronicle, in Chennai and Hyderabad in April. The business daily also hit the stands in Bangalore, Mumbai and Delhi. Dainik Bhaskar launched six editions in Chhattisgarh; Bhilai, Jagdalpur and Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh and strengthened its North India presence with launches in Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh; Shimla in Himachal Pradesh; and Pali and Nagpur in Rajasthan. Jagran Prakashan's Inext launched a Dehradun edition. BCCL launched Hindi edition of The Economic Times and The Times of India entered the Chennai market. Affect of meltdown on the Print market It has been a tough year for the Indian print industry. If the first half of the year was about newsprint rates shooting through the roof, forcing most of the publications to hike their ad rates and cover prices, the second saw the industry reel under the economic slowdown. Job cuts, closure of offices or editions and holding back of plans are becoming common place for most publications. To name a few: the industry has been abuzz with rumours that Bennett, Coleman and Company Ltd is looking at laying off some of its staff. The BCCL officials have been stating otherwise. However, with the number of pages of the various BCCL publications coming down in an unprecedented manner, the uncertainty arising from slowdown has surely hit the organisation. The situation is no different for the other dailies. There are hushed, worried conversations in the corridors of publications like the Hindustan Times and Mid-Day as well. The Sakaal Group's Sakaal Times shut its Delhi operations and has postponed the launch of its English daily from other cities. DNA Money was a standalone publication in Indore in its initial stage, and the publication was intent on floating DNA Money as a standalone pink paper. These plans seem to be on the backburner too. The other language dailies are also facing problems. The Jagran18 plans have been put off indefinitely, while Business Standard shut its Gujarat editions. Many plans of rolling out new editions from leading media houses are also on hold. Not that the scene with the magazines is any better. India Today's decision to shut down its Bengali edition had turned quite a few heads. Steps such as Outlook Hindi becoming a monthly from a weekly just show some of the steps magazines are taking to brave the slowdown. Even for the leading players, job cuts, salary cuts and no hikes in the forthcoming appraisal are becoming everyday conversations. A grim scenario one might say, but the industry is optimistic about a silver lining somewhere. |
